A Time to Breathe – Development of a model or blueprint for a European wide Creative Arts for Health and Well-Being Hub operating as an online platform and new learning resource centre that provides curriculums, training resources, and a video game for youth all using creative processes to promote education, training and awareness raising in relation to positive mental health and emotional well-being, to overcome stress and anxiety and to build resilience across Europe, strengthening links across Europe in relation to the arts, education and positive mental health and well-being with and by. young people. Arising out of the recent Coronavirus pandemic there is firstly a need to provide direct education and training in relation to the promotion of positive mental health and well-being with a specific focus on three areas (1) handling stress (2) overcoming anxiety and (3) building resilience and well-being. Secondly there is a real need to ensure that the education and training is available both face-to-face and online. A Time to Breathe is a European wide two-year transnational partnership project that brings together 6 organisations who will create a sustainable partnership and share their expertise of using the arts to promote positive mental health and well-being with youth. The expertise will be shared in order to create a blue print or model of practice for a new Europe wide Creative Arts for Health and Well-Being hub (an online interactive platform and learning resource centre). The overall aim is to provide education, training and awareness-raising at national and European levels using creative processes to promote positive mental health and emotional wellbeing with youth. This is done by creating a model or template for the establishment of the Europe-wide Creative Arts for Health and Well-Being hub for youth, that uses creativity to promote education, training and awareness raising in relation to positive mental health and emotional well-being at national and European levels.
The core aim of this project was to bring different partners together and to combine their skills and expertise in order to create a European model for using the arts to promote positive mental health and well-being with youth workers and young people, both face-to-face and online. We were particularly keen to demonstrate the effectiveness of the arts through innovative processes and actions in its ability to promote physical and emotional health and wellbeing for all. This is particularly pertinent in a post Covid pandemic society and research has demonstrated the effectiveness of new techniques, including the arts to assist in supporting improved mental health and wellbeing. We also wanted to showcase how co-operation and working together on a transnational basis can achieve collective benefits with sharing of knowledge and expertise and demonstrating the benefits of a shared approach across Europe.
Art Connects Mental Health: A Time to Breathe was a two-year European wide transnational partnership project that aimed to provide education, training and awareness-raising at national and European levels using creative processes to promote positive mental health and emotional wellbeing with youth. Six partner organisations came together to create a blueprint for a Europe-wide Creative Arts for Health and Well Being hub, a new online, interactive, learning resource centre that supports the role of the arts to promote physical and emotional positive mental health and well-being for all. We noted that a challenging event like the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic affected everyone’s mental health. While each of us were doing our best to look after ourselves however young people may need extra attention and support. Building synergies between the arts, youth education, and health and well-being, this project addressed an important need by supporting the role of the arts to promote positive mental health and emotional well-being, to overcome stress and anxiety and to build resilience across Europe, strengthening links across Europe in relation to the arts, education and positive mental health and well-being with and by young people.